


Switched - A Different Disney Story

by Hatsumomo_Fay



Category: Disney Princesses, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, True Love, world swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-06
Updated: 2015-01-25
Packaged: 2018-02-28 08:10:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2725169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hatsumomo_Fay/pseuds/Hatsumomo_Fay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While attending the monthly get-together, the six Disney Princesses are suddenly interrupted by a group of villians led by Ursula. Frustrated with being exiled in their individual worlds, the villians decide to change their fate and kidnapp a new Princess to change their stories. Confused and completely out of their elements, can the Princesses make it back to their own realms before the curse is permanent?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love Disney and all of the Princesses but I wanted a story that was aimed for a little older of an audience. I had a lot of fun writing this and putting new Princesses into different environments and exploring how the classic tales change. Please let me know your thoughts!

“Good morning, hello, good to see you! Hi Snow!” Cinderella beamed as she welcomed her five friends and co-princesses into the bright and airy room and led them to a beautifully decorated table, complete with small finger foods from each of the Princesses’ lands. It was their monthly get-together where they discussed current events as well as shared old memories and stories. Once they were all settled in and had tasted a few of the chocolate cream puffs from Belle’s kingdom, Cinderella cleared her throat and shuffled several papers before her, looking for the right one. “Ah here it is wonderful,” she began, holding up a baby blue piece of paper that sparkled like freshly fallen snow. “I’m sure all of you have heard about the recent request put forth by the two Princesses from Arendelle, a miss Elsa and Anna…” she left her statement hanging for a few moments while the other Princesses all nodded and smiled.

  
“Yes,” Jasmine spoke, “They have caused quite the sensation recently,” again, all who were gathered nodded.

  
“And those amazing voices that they posses,” Ariel volunteered. “I’ve never heard anyone with such range, especially Elsa. They might even give your voice a run for its money, Snow!” Instantly Snow White’s pale cheeks burned a deep scarlet as she and the rest of her friends stifled giggles.

  
“Well I think it’s a simple enough decision then,” Cinderella interjected, bringing the Princesses back to the issue at hand. “I say that we approve their request to be official Princesses and invite them to our next meeting.”

  
“I second that!” Belle cried, stuffing another chocolate pastry in her mouth. For the next hour the Princesses put aside the business aspect of the meeting and focused instead on remembering old times and family life.

  
“So Snow,” Jasmine said slyly with her eyebrows raised. “Are you and Charming thinking about having any little dwarfs of your own?”

  
Giggles erupted around the circle once more and again Snow’s fair skin flushed a dark pink. “Oh, Jasmine, please,” Snow smiled. “I don’t have any time for children, what with taking care of the seven dwarves. It’s unbelievable how messy they still are!”

  
“But aren’t you living with Charming in the castle? Why are you still picking up after the dwarves?” asked Ariel.

  
Snow paused for a moment, looking nervous, “Well yes I do but I still have to go down and clean their cottage for them every now and then. Without me they’d reek all the way up to the castle and I’d have to do it anyway,” she laughed, her large dark brown eyes the perfect portrait of innocence.

  
“Yes but eventually…” Pocahontas started but Snow suddenly jumped up from her seat and put her hands to her cheeks.

  
“Oh goodness I forgot about the pie!” she cried and flew out of the room before any of the other Princesses could respond. Several seconds later she returned carrying a large pie, apple by the warm scent of it. Carefully she placed it in the middle of the table and stepped back. “Sorry about that Pocahontas but I just remembered I had left it on the sill to cool. I was nervous one of the birds may have pushed it over the edge but…it’s fine,” she finished, trying to catch her breath and return her breathing back to normal.  
“Oh Snow this smells delicious,” Cinderella smiled, picking up a carving knife and several small plates. “Would everyone like a slice?” All four Princesses nodded while Snow resumed her seat once more and looked on, smiling proudly. It was so nice to have lunch with a group of sophisticated women rather than rambunctious dwarves who only knew how to grab. A short while later the talking resumed, thankfully on a different subject than Snow having children while everyone began to enjoy their apple pie. Moans of delight escaped the Princesses’ full mouths as they savored each bite with closed eyes.

  
“I don’t know how you do it Snow but your pies are magnificent!” Belle cried. “No matter how hard I try to replicate them I can never come out with the same taste.”

  
Snow looked down shyly and the corner of her lips smiled. “It’s because I use a special ingredient,” she whispered as she glanced back up at the five girls around her and tilted her head slightly to the right.

  
“Oh, please tell me,” Belle pleaded, taking another bite of her quickly vanishing pie. Snow simply shook her head and took a sip of her tea. “I know I’ll guess it!” Belle declared, narrowing her eyes in concentration as she attempted to pick out the key ingredient. “Cinnamon!” she yelled but Snow just shook her head, “Nutmeg? Clove? Butterscotch? Caramel? Paprika!” she threw in after a long list but still Snow just shook her head. “Ah I give up. Please Snow what is it?” Belle yawned, licking the tiny remnants off of her fork.

Snow’s eyes glistened darkly and her lips spread wide, “Poison,” she whispered and watched gleefully as all five of her friends’ eyes began to close and their heads hit the table with resounding thuds until she was the only one left seated.


	2. Chapter 2

Pushing back in her chair, Snow White stood up and shook her short black hair from side to side, surveying her work with excitement. Then, from somewhere close by, a door could be heard slamming open and a chorus of voices echoed through the hallway leading into the sunroom where the passed-out Princesses laid. Snow turned her head and awaited the visitors calmly, as if she had been expecting them. A moment later, the large double doors burst open and Ursula, the sea witch, poured forth. As she entered the sunny room, her long thick tentacles slapped loudly across the polished wood floor and her body moved with the motion like she was still deep underwater. Ursula scanned the scene before her, her bright red lips parting in an evil grin. “Well done Queenie,” she cackled in her deep voice. “I daresay I had my doubts but nicely done.”

  
Snow White smiled coyly and took off her red headband. Suddenly her rich black hair began to recede and her pale white skin started to darken in color. Her clothing also changed and soon there was no trace that Snow White had ever stood there, for now it was the Evil Queen who loomed near the table. “Thank you Ursula for those kind words,” the Evil Queen sneered. “I think that’s the closest thing to a compliment I may ever get from you.” Ursula sneered back and moved out of the doorway so that the rest of the party could make it through without skirting her bulk.

  
Once the doorway was clear, three men and a somber older woman filed in, all wearing different expressions that ranged from skeptical to anxious. Ursula waltzed into the middle of the room, careful to stay away from the bright sunlight. Without the ocean to keep her hydrated, she had to navigate the surface and its drying sun carefully. A large satisfied grin spread across her lips as she assessed the villains before her. Apart from the Evil Queen, the Evil Stepmother had agreed to participate along with Gaston, Radcliff and Jafar. “Well,” she stated deeply, “Thank you all for coming,” Ursula laughed as she indicated the lively party before her.

  
“Hey Ursula,” Gaston huffed. “Where should I put this one?” he tilted his chin down to the colorful bundle in his arms. He carried the real Snow White, having abducted her on her way to the party. Ursula waved her hand indifferently, her heavy arms flapping widely with the movement.

  
“Oh, Gaston, I don’t care,” she sighed, eager to be getting on with business before the Princesses awoke from the simple sleeping potion the Evil Queen had administered into the pie. Even though it seemed to have worked, Ursula still had doubts about the Queen’s magic. With a thump, Gaston deposited Snow White onto the floor next to a sprawled out Jasmine. “Thank you,” Ursula said through gritted teeth while Gaston resumed his place in line. “Now, as we discussed before. We are all tired of being outcasts in our own lands while these goodie-to-shoes gallivant around kissing Princes and dancing with animals.” The assembled group laughed softly as their eyes hardened. “You want your power back,” Ursula explained. “You want them to bow down to you once more. You want to take everything away from them!” the small crowd was being worked into frenzy by Ursula’s words, shouting in agreement and throwing their fists in the air. “You wish they had never fallen in love because that’s how we all lost our power. We lost our hold on our worlds because of true love,” Ursula mocked, flinging her tentacles wildly. “Well ladies and gentleman…I brought you here today so that we could take back our land by simply getting rid of the source of our failure…the Princesses,” she rasped, brushing her hand through the air to indicate the sleeping girls.

  
“Here here!” roared Radcliff while the Evil Stepmother looked on with a raised brow.

  
“So what is it you are proposing, Ursula?” she asked in a degrading tone. “Simply knock them out and stash them somewhere? How quickly that plan will backfire once their Princes find out and decide to deliver justice. I have already been reduced to living in poverty because of that twit there,” she announced, pointing a long thin finger at a slumped-over Cinderella. “How is getting rid of her going to improve my life?”

  
A murmur of hushed agreement quickly went through the line as the others thought about the Evil Stepmother’s point for the first time. Ursula rolled her eyes and adjusted her posture, her many layers of skin and fat rippling in response. “Still no faith Lady Tremaine,” Ursula admonished. “The fact is that we won’t just be getting rid of the Princess in our land, but switching them with a Princess from another.”

  
Gaston cocked his head to the side as his muscles flexed. “So instead of Belle I can choose another Princess? But won’t the same thing happen with her? She’ll fall in love with the Beast and then I’ll be reduced to nothing, just like Stepmother,” he whined as Lady Tremaine narrowed her bright green eyes in his direction.

  
“Well if you people let me finish I can tell you exactly why that won’t happen!” Ursula yelled, beginning to lose her patience. “I have prepared a spell that will last for three days. For three days our lands will reset, if you will, and we will be able to try and take over all over again! Gaston you can kill the Beast and take the Princess for yourself, Radcliff you can kill the savages and take their gold and Lady Tremaine can get the Prince to marry one of her…lovely daughters and live in the castle.”

  
“And I will finally be the fairest of them all,” the Evil Queen spoke out quietly as hope blossomed in her skeptical eyes for the first time.

  
“Yes yes, do we all get the idea?” Ursula asked roughly. “With this spell, everyone will be able to yield the power that was lost to them when your Princess fell in love and took it all away!”

  
“But again,” Gaston paused. “What’s to stop a new Princess from falling in love with the Beast? Can’t we just leave them tied up here and take control of the land?”

  
Ursula put her hands on her hips, “Sadly no I did think of that but there’s something in the rulebook about each land needing to have a Princess but there’s nothing that says which one. And as for your fear that yet another woman will not find you attractive, I’ve got that covered as well. You see the spell will only reset the land, not the Princess. So silly little Pocahontas here won’t automatically think she’s a mermaid. They will come to the new land with no new skills or abilities and the best part of all; they will still be madly in love with their own Prince.”

  
It took Gaston a few moments to understand this but finally realization hit him, “So they’ll be too busy trying to get back to their own world and their own Prince and won’t be bothered with what we are doing?”

  
“Precisely,” Ursula cackled loudly. “Now do not forget what I said about the three days. If you are not able to take power within the given time, everything will reset and you will be back at square one. But, on the other hand if you do succeed in attaining your goal, the spell is permanent and the Princess will be stuck in your land forever.”

  
There were no longer any looks of hesitation or confusion for all the villains had already started plotting their rise to power. “Now, my skin is getting drier and drier the longer we stay here so quick grab your new Princess and let’s get back to our lands,” she ordered as she reached out one of her slimy tentacles and wrapped it around Jasmine’s small body and pulled her in close to her.

  
All at once the villains circled the messy table and selected a sleeping Princess to bring back with them. Lady Tremaine made her way around the table and stopped in front of Pocahontas. Surely with the way that Radcliff talked about her, it would take only minutes to secure the title of Queen for one of her daughters and move into the castle for what did a woodland Princess know about politics and castle living? Turning over her shoulder the Lady called out shrilly, “Girls I am ready for you now.”

  
With sounds similar to that of a cat fight, the large doors were pushed open suddenly and Lady Tremaine’s two daughters Drizella and Anastasia came scrambling in, pulling on one another’s dress and hair. “Girls girls please try to act like future Queens for one of you shall be,” barked the Lady. “Now I need you to pick this girl up and carry her back to the house.”

  
“But why should we?” Drizella whined.

  
“Yeah where’s that awful lazy Cinderella to help you?” Anastasia cried.

  
“She’s over there, quite incapacitated at the moment,” the Evil Stepmother gestured and paused as she saw the Evil Queen looking Cinderella up and down. Good she thought, take her and see if you can do any better.

  
“But why does she get to take a nap mother?” Drizella moaned, her already sour mood turning sulky. “I couldn’t stay home and take a nap but there’s Cinderella passed out on the floor…oh why is she on the floor?” Now Anastasia stopped and looked around the room and tried to understand what was happening.

  
“Never mind that now just pick up this girl and let’s be off!” Lady Tremaine ordered, raising her voice. It was rare that she shouted at her girls but they couldn’t waste any more time dawdling.

  
“I thought we had agreed upon involving no one else Stepmother and here you’ve involved two,” Gaston said accusingly as he slung Ariel over his shoulder.

  
Lady Tremaine stood tall and looked down her nose at Gaston, “My dear man, I should hope that you will excuse me inviting my two daughters to accompany me, for I am an old withered woman and do not have the strength to carry a grown woman on my own. It also happens that one of these charming ladies will soon be the new Queen so if I were you I’d watch what I say and how I say it,” she pronounced clearly, raking her eyes angrily over his fit form.

  
Gaston simply put up his hands and smirked as he looked over the two ugly stepsisters while a small shiver climbed up his spine. They had certainly earned their nickname.  
“I hope then that I am to be excused as well,” the Evil Queen declared as she waved her hand. Almost instantly a tall bearded man entered the room and alighted to his Queen’s side. “For I brought my new huntsman to assist me in hope that he possess more loyalty than my last one,” she explained, her dark violet eyes hooded. The huntsman bowed low to his Queen and remained silent, eagerly awaiting his orders.

  
“Ah, can no one do anything themselves today?” Ursula said rolling her eyes as she began to make her way toward the large doors with a sleeping Jasmine still wrapped tightly in her tentacle. “Let’s just hurry up.”

  
Finally all six villains had their new Princess. Ursula took Jasmine, Lady Tremaine grabbed Pocahontas, Gaston chose Ariel, the Evil Queen claimed Cinderella, Jafar selected Snow and Radcliff stole Belle. Carrying their quarry out into the hallway the villains all stood in front of the doors that would lead them back to their own lands.  
“Alright, now everyone must go through their doorways and I will then cast the spell,” Ursula instructed. “Once the spell reaches all of the lands, the past will reset and you all will have your second chance. Just remember three days is all you have so good luck and hopefully I shall see you all next time as Ursula, Queen of the Sea.”

  
Exclamations of good luck and farewell echoed throughout the marble hall as the five other villains opened their doorways and began the long walk back to their lands. Once the last threshold had been crossed, Ursula tightened her grip on Jasmine and yanked the golden seashell necklace off of her neck. She bounced it playfully in her palm for several seconds and then glanced down at Jasmine. “Let the fun begin,” she laughed quietly and gripping the small shell in her fist, threw it down on the hard stone floor with all of her might. Instantly the magic contained within the shell exploded, coating the floor in a shimmering golden dust that immediately started to advance upon the multiple doors in the long hallway. The evil golden powder resembled pixie dust but Ursula had manipulated the properties and watched with anxious eyes as it bounced against the closed doors to the other lands and poured into the open doorways with growing enthusiasm. The magic knew its task and with nothing left to do, Ursula gripped both sides of her doorway and thrust herself and the foreign Princess into the warm water. As her tentacles propelled her further and further into the clear ocean, the sea witch glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the sight of the golden dust following her through the water which now resembled nothing more than the sun’s rays. “If I were you Princess I wouldn’t wake up,” she whispered and with that dove into a deep crevice and was lost from sight.


	3. Belle

Bright sunlight warmed Belle’s face as she slowly awoke from her long sleep. Groggily, she sat up and arched her back in a deep stretch, opening her eyes for the first time since yesterday afternoon. As her eyes adjusted to the brilliant sunlight pouring in through her small window, a quiet clicking noise captured her attention. Throwing back the patchwork quilt covering her, she set her bare feet on the cold dirt and sighed, rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes. Suddenly the clicking sound grew louder and the scurrying of feet overhead could be heard. Belle slowly shifted her gaze upward and was instantly met with a blindly flash of dark grey as something large and fluffy landed on her head.

  
Belle screamed wildly as she jumped up from her bed and began waving her arms crazily, attempting to rid herself of the unwanted beast. As if sensing her discomfort, the happy raccoon loosened his grip and jumped onto the disheveled blanket. Finally free of her attacker, Belle looked quickly around the small circular room for the culprit. As her gaze swung around, Meeko the raccoon gave a happy greeting chirp as he waited for his usual biscuit to start the morning. Once Belle’s eyes finally landed on her furry friend, she jumped back in surprise and her hand fluttered to her throat. “Oh, my goodness,” she breathed unsure of what the creature was. Growing up in a small village on the outskirts of France she saw mainly farm animals and wild wolves on the odd occasion. Slowly, in the back of her mind, the name of the animal came to her and after several minutes she recognized him as a close friend of Pocahontas.

  
“Hello there,” Belle whispered hesitantly as Meeko sat there patiently awaiting his treat. “Um, you must be ah, ah, Percy?” Belle guessed, trying to remember the names of the animals from Pocahontas’s stories. Hearing the wrong name, Meeko wrinkled his nose and fluffed his tail. Sensing the raccoon’s dismissal Belle took a step forward and held up her hands. “Okay, so you’re not Percy, are you…Meelo?” Meeko looked hopeful for a moment and then wrinkled his nose again and sneezed in disappointment. “It’s not Meelo,” Belle said out loud to herself as the name came slamming back to her. “Oh Meeko!” she cried, relieved that she finally remembered the raccoon’s name. “How are you little guy?” she went on, reaching out a hand to pet him. “Where’s Pocahontas, huh?” Meeko tilted his head and regarded Belle with questionable eyes. Belle just shrugged, having no idea how to read raccoon body language and stood back up and surveyed her surroundings. “Where am I?” she wondered aloud for the first time since waking.  
Normally she slept in a beautifully decorated room facing east so that the morning sunlight kissed her awake each morning. However, even though the sun was shining, this wasn’t her bedroom. Belle quickly glanced to the right where her small white vanity sat and saw only a tiny wooden footstool with a colorful cloth draped over it. She wrinkled her brow in confusion and turned to the left, expecting to see her grand balcony that overlooked the wild rose garden down below, yet all that greeted her gaze was a slightly sloping doorway with another colorful piece of cloth hanging from the top, “What’s going on here?”

  
Just then an unfamiliar face pulled the limp cloth curtain to the side and smiled brightly into the warm hut. “Good morning Belle!” Nakoma cried. “Come on let’s get going! We’ve got a lot to pick before the warriors come home!” and with that she pulled her head back through the archway and was gone. “Meet me out near the stalks and we’ll walk together,” Belle heard her call as her voice drifted further away.

  
“Warriors? Pick? What is happening? Where are the castle and Mrs. Potts and Lumiere and the Beast?” Belle breathed nervously, crossing the short distance to the door in a matter of seconds. With a determined tug, she brushed the cloth curtain aside and her mouth dropped open in shock. Greeting her gaze was not the elegant halls of the castle, but the bustling movements of multiple villagers and small clay huts identical to the one she was standing in. “But how did I get here?” Furrowing her brow once more, Belle tried to think back to the previous day before she had awoken.

  
All she could remember was riding Philippe through the forest to attend the monthly tea party with her friends. She remembered trying Jasmine’s rice and then Snow’s apple pie and then she couldn’t remember what happened after that. “Belle, come on,” Nakoma’s warm voice groaned as she reappeared by Belle’s side. “We were supposed to be there already.” Too stunned to say anything back, Belle allowed Nakoma to pull her out of the small hut and out into the chilly morning air that was already churning with movement by the rest of the tribe. Everywhere Belle looked people were working, mainly women, children and older men grinding flour, sorting berries, shucking corn and sewing similar cloth pieces like the one hanging in her doorway.

  
“But I don’t understand,” Belle whispered as she kept pace with the strange girl holding her hand. She had only read about places like these, how had she gotten there?  
“I told you yesterday Belle, your father will be arriving today at mid-day, but before we greet them, Susquan needs us to collect a basket each for the feast tonight. Where is your mind today girl?” she said in a somewhat mocking tone as Belle looked on dumbstruck.

  
“My father?” was all Belle said as she envisioned her father Maurice barreling through the dense forest in one of his new inventions. “Where did he go?”

  
Nakoma simply rolled her eyes and gave a snort, “Always such a jokester.” Finally after several minutes Nakoma slowed her run and Belle copied her. They were standing amidst an endless row of towering corn stalks. As she glanced down the long rows, she saw other women pulling ears of corn out of the stalks and ripping back the green sleeves encasing them. Of those that were free of rot or bugs, they deposited into their woven baskets and others they simply let fall to the ground for the animals to enjoy. “Here,” Nakoma said, handing Belle a similar basket to the ones she saw the other women carrying. “We’ll start on this row,” she directed, humming happily to herself as she began to mimic the movements of the other women.

  
Belle let her basket fall to the soft brown earth and assessed her situation, finally free from the muddled thoughts of sleep. To start, she was standing in dirt without shoes on. Second she was outside and there were lots of little bugs already nipping at her sweat. And third, what in the world was going on? “Um, can I ask you something?” Belle started hesitantly. Nakoma just shrugged, expecting a quiet conversation. “Where am I?”

  
Nakoma stopped her progress and regarded Belle with a confused expression, “What do you mean where are you? We’re a mile outside the village.”

  
“No, but how did I get here?” Belle stated, this time with some force.

  
“We ran,” Nakoma said confused. “We just ran here.”

  
“No, I mean like this world,” Belle continued, trying to hold back tears. Couldn’t this girl see that something wasn’t right? “I don’t live here. I live in a castle in the forest in France with Beast. I don’t do this outside thing, I like my books, my chair…” her voice dropped off as she realized she was whining. “I just want to go home.”

  
Nakoma looked at Belle for a silent moment, trying to gauge whether or not she was playing a prank on her. But the look of desperation in her eyes was unlike anything she had ever seen before. “Are you okay Belle? Did you have a weird dream last night?”

  
“But that’s just it! I wasn’t here last night, I was in my castle!” Belle shouted, louder than she had meant to. “Last night I fell asleep there and woke up here,” she gestured to the small overturned basket. Nakoma only looked at her with a cocked brow, completely lost. Belle shrugged in defeat, realizing the girl didn’t understand. “You see this isn’t my world. Pocahontas lives here.”

  
“Who?” Nakoma asked, turning back to her corn.

  
“Pocahontas,” Belle repeated, this time more urgently. “You know her, she’s this tall,” she said indicating with her hand a few inches above her own head. “She has long silky black hair, great legs and runs around with a small cat-like creature and a hummingbird?” Belle described, desperately hoping her description would strike a bell. But Nakoma simply stood looking at her with her eyes growing larger.

  
“Maybe you should go back to the village and wait for your father there,” she said slowly.

  
“No, I don’t want to go back to the village, I can’t even find the village,” Belle moaned. “I just want to find out what’s going on and go back to the castle.”

  
“Well, um, maybe you should try asking Grandmother Willow about this dream,” Nakoma volunteered. “She usually helps you out when you become lost in them.”

  
For the first time since she woke Belle was excited, could this person actually help her? “Great! Great idea, Grandmother Willow,” she said smacking her forehead with her hand. “Why didn’t I go to her straight away? Pocahontas is always talking about her!” Pushing her wild curls out her eyes, Belle started to run back the way they had come. “Oh wait,” she faltered. “I don’t know where Grandmother Willow is.”

  
Nakoma shook her head and pointed to Meeko who had just arrived after having eaten nearly a whole bushel of discarded corn. “He can take you,” she explained. “He usually goes everywhere with you.”

  
“Great! Thank you thank you so much ah…” Belle hesitated, realizing that she didn’t know the name of the girl who was supposed to be her best friend.  
“Nakoma,” her friend replied, helping Belle search for the answer.

  
“Nakoma,” Belle repeated gratefully. “Thank you so much. Come on Meelo!” she called over her shoulder. “Take me to Grandmother Willow!” The raccoon shook his head and glanced up at Flit, the hummingbird, with a look that said; I told you so and raced ahead of Belle to lead the way. As Nakoma watched Belle disappear around the bend, she shook her head and crossed her arms. What in the world had gotten into her friend?

  
Belle ran after Meeko for what felt like miles until the small raccoon finally stopped at the edge of the river beside a large willow tree. Belle unhappily scratched at her thighs where the rough burlap dress cut into her skin, desperately wishing for her soft cotton dresses.

  
With his front paw he gestured for Belle to climb up the twisting gnarled root and sit on the large smooth trunk that looked up at the old tree. Hesitantly, Belle glanced back and forth from the two animals watching her to the dangerous climb up, trying to decide if that was what they were telling her to do. Again Meeko twitched his paw and clicked his tongue, not waiting any longer to ascend the long root himself. With a slight waddle from all the corn he had consumed that morning, he dug his nails into the soft bark and walked up the low branch until he was sitting on the edge of the stump. Belle bit her lip and then tried to walk along the branch herself, feeling a slight sense of accomplishment as she landed safely on the other side. Meeko made his clicking noise again and sat back, waiting for Grandmother Willow to appear for she always frightened him during the reveal.

  
For a second, Belle glanced around the quiet forest as she waited for the Grandmother to arrive. Did she know she was waiting for her or did she have to call her? Tentatively as she peered through the gently blowing vines, she called out, “Grandmother Willow? Are you there?”

  
Suddenly the smooth bark trunk in front of her started to twist and turn until an old craggily face appeared before her, “Oh, whoa!” Belle cried, stumbling backwards as she tried to register what was happening. All around her the forest animals gathered beside her and along the swaying branches, for they loved to hear her speak to Grandmother Willow.

  
“Hello, my child,” the tree spoke in a withered tone. “What brings you to see me today, another dream with a spinning arrow?”

  
Belle crinkled her facial features as several emotions flew across her face, shock, fear, confusion and finally relief. Could this be the woman she was looking for? “Spinning arrow?” Belle repeated confused. “No, ah, are you Grandmother Willow?”

  
“Well of course, child,” the tree spoke again. “Who else would I be?”

  
“Right,” Belle whispered to herself. “Um, it’s just that I seem to have been brought here by mistake and I’d like to find a way to get home.”

  
“Home child, but what do you mean?” Grandmother Willow asked perplexed. Usually Belle came to her with strange dreams and visions but this was something else entirely.  
Belle let her shoulders slump as her hope of getting back to her land fled. “Never mind,” she whispered. “It was foolish of me to even come here I mean, you’re a tree.”  
Grandmother Willow looked taken aback for Belle had never acted this way before. “Excuse me young lady I may be a tree but I am also your Grandmother and you will treat me as such,” she admonished mildly for she was more curious than angry. “I sense a great shift within you Belle. What has happened?”

  
New hope blossomed in Belle’s heart, “Well, you see that’s just it! I haven’t changed! I have remained the exact same Belle, it’s all this…” she gestured with her arms to the surrounding landscape and then down at her woven dress, “that has become different.” Grandmother Willow remained quiet, urging her to continue. “You see, I woke up and I was in a hut and a village and it hit me that this must be Pocahontas’s village. These were her people and you are her Grandmother. I was simply put here by mistake.”

  
“Pocahontas?” Grandmother Willow said. “I’ve never heard of such a person,” but a small flicker of a long forgotten memory sparked in the back of her mind.

  
“No of course, no one has,” Belle said hurriedly. “But I’m telling you it’s her who lives in this land, not me. And I need to get back to Beast, back to my castle and all of my friends.”

  
Grandmother Willow paused for a moment and let her thoughts swirl before her as the shifting wind blew lazily through her vines and leaves. “Yes…yes I definitely feel the change in the wind,” she explained. “Something strange has happened to you. I sense old magic here. I think you are right; someone put you here, but why? What reason would they have to change your life?”

  
Belle was speechless, first by the fact that the tree believed her and second by what she said. Could someone have brought her there? Taken her away from Beast on purpose? Belle racked her brain for a culprit but no one came to mind. After her and Beast had married they had been left alone in peace. She shook her head and let her curls dance in the wind, “I do not know what has happened or why Grandmother Willow, but is there any chance that you can fix this? Can you get me home?”

  
Grandmother Willow shook her head from side to side, her fixed position limiting her movement. “I am afraid I cannot my child,” she whispered. “It seems as if whoever placed you here is not a friend to you and intends for you to remain here unless something important takes place.”

  
“Something important,” Belle repeated and suddenly her eyes grew wide. “Naomi said my father is returning today with warriors! Could that be it? Will I be able to go back once they arrive?”

  
“I fear not my child,” Grandmother Willow said sadly. “I can feel a change in the wind and with it comes new fears and new adventures and you must face these new challenges head on.”

  
Belle sighed and glanced high into the treetop. There had to be a way to get out of this land. Before she could say another word, Grandmother Willow gasped and her branches swayed wildly. “Quick, child climb up to the top,” she urged. “There is something that I think you need to see!”

  
With a bewildered look, Belle raised herself from her sitting position and began to climb Grandmother Willow, having a very hard time placing her feet and pulling herself up the graceful limbs. Finally she reached the top of the tree where only thin branches remained and stuck her head out into the bright blue sky.

  
“What do you see, child?” Grandmother Willow called up excitedly.

  
Belle narrowed her eyes against the bright sunlight and looked out over the calm bay. There, sailing in toward the coast was a large ship with great billowing sails. Slight disappointment pulled at her heart as her hope for magic faded slowly away. “It’s just a boat,” she called down unenthusiastically and began her descent back down the tall tree.


	4. Snow White

Dawn broke over Agrabah quietly as all the nocturnal animals scuttled into their nests and prepared for a long sleep. In the palace not too far away, Snow White was awaking for the first time in her new land. As her eyes opened lazily, the scent of lilac and jasmine greeted her senses as beautiful billowing sheer curtains blew softly around where she lay. “Am I still dreaming?” Snow asked quietly. Hearing her voice, her pet tiger Raja let out a large yawn and shifted in his spot near the bed, causing Snow to squeal in surprise. Eagerly, she threw back the covers and jumped to her feet, causing the feather bed to shift and slide with her movement.

  
“Oh, hello there,” she said uncertainly. Raja cocked his ears and looked at Snow, confused by her strange greeting. Usually she would hug him and pet his soft fur until the sun rose high into the sky. “Um, I’m Snow,” she explained, pointing to her chest. Raja leaned back in a big stretch and opened his jaws wide in another yawn. “Oh, nice teeth you have,” Snow whispered, watching with careful eyes as the tiger waltzed over to her and waited patiently for his good morning hug. After several minutes, Snow seemed to understand what the tiger was doing and slowly moved from her perch on the bed down to the heavily carpeted floor. Still Raja waited quietly, purring slightly as Snow’s touch came closer and closer. Once Snow realized that the tiger wasn’t going to hurt her, she relaxed her stance and placed both hands around Raja’s face, smiling as his eyes closed in happiness. “Hello, Raja,” she said warmly. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Jasmine talks about you all the time.” Raja ignored Snow’s mutterings for he was too busy enjoying his massage.

  
Just then two loud bangs echoed throughout the room as the large set of double doors swung open. For the first time, Snow glanced down to see what she was wearing, just feeling the cool breeze across her stomach for the first time. The sight that greeted her eyes made her jaw drop. Instead of her usual blue and yellow gown, she was clad in a sheer pink fabric that left her shoulders and mid-drift bare. Warm color flushed her cheeks as she attempted to cover her exposed skin with her hands as footsteps edged closer and closer to the enclosed bed.

  
“Ah, there you are, my dear,” the sultan greeted happily. He apparently hadn’t noticed what she was wearing. “Remember today is the day you meet your suitors!”

  
“My what?” Snow asked, pulling the soft covers over her front.

  
“Now now, come, my dear, no being shy today!” the sultan scolded gently as he pulled her out of bed. Raja followed softly behind, his thick padded feet making quiet thuds on the white marble floor. The sultan pulled Snow into what appeared to be a large walk-in closet and clapped his hands. Instantly, two women, both who wore colorful scarves around their faces, materialized by his side, the only feature Snow could see were their large amber eyes but she let out a small sigh of relief as she realized they were clad in similar outfits that she wore too.

  
“Your maids will help you pick out an appropriate gown to greet your guests in my dear,” he explained as he toddled along, running his hands along green silk and purple sheer fabrics as he rounded the closet. “Have her ready as soon as you can ladies,” he instructed. “For her first suitor will be arriving within the hour!” And then, saying nothing more, he danced out of the dressing rooms and out into the elegantly dressed hall.

  
“Oh, my heavens,” whispered Snow. “I think there has been a mistake.”

  
“A mistake, Princess?” wondered one of the maids as she held up an azure blue gown to Snow’s face. “Ah this color will make your eyes pop my Princess,” she complimented.

  
Warm color flushed Snow’s cheeks again as the other woman held up a rich raspberry fabric, “No this is the color for her. With her smooth skin those suitors are just going to faint at the sight of her.” Both women giggled as they started to pin and twist the sheer fabric around Snow’s small waist.

  
Her heart began to beat quickly in her chest as she realized something was terribly wrong. “Wait, please wait,” she pleaded with the women who were conversing in a language Snow had never heard before. “Please, you must stop.” At her anxious tone, both maids stopped what they were doing and looked up at her curiously.

  
“What’s wrong Princess?” one of them asked. “Is it your nerves? It is a very exciting day what with meeting your possible future husband.”

  
“But that’s what’s wrong,” she said tearfully. “I already have a husband. His name is Prince Charming.” Both women gasped at this latest piece of gossip and started whispering in hushed tones. “No please listen, something happened to me yesterday and I ended up here…where are we exactly?” she asked, hoping her suspicion was correct.

  
The women exchanged a puzzled look and then the other spoke gently, “Well we are in Agrabah Princess.”

  
“Agrabah, thank goodness,” Snow sighed. She had guessed the name of the land when she saw all of the colorful fabrics and felt the heat when she woke up but seeing Raja clinched her fears. “Okay, there must have been a mix up,” she smiled, stepping off of the stool. “You see, I don’t live here in Agrabah, I live in a small cottage in a quiet forest with Charming and the seven dwarfs…”

  
One of her maids cut her off, looking concerned, “Are you alright, Princess?”

  
“Perhaps we should call the sultan back, let him know that the Princess is ill,” the other interjected.

  
“No, no, I’m fine I promise I’m trying to tell you that I don’t belong in this land, Agrabah is where Jasmine lives,” Snow tried to convince them.

  
The first maid put down her pins and stood up. “I’m going to fetch the sultan, the Princess can’t meet her suitors today,” she explained and hurriedly fled from the large closet leaving Snow alone with the other maid who stared at her as if she were about to breathe fire.

  
Seizing her only opportunity, Snow spun around and darted out of the closet, running down the first hallway she found. Cries and shouts from the maid echoed all around her and quickly the sound of pounding feet reached her ears. Startled, Snow pumped her legs faster and glanced over her shoulder to see the intimidating figure of Raja chasing after her. The loyal tiger let out a sad groan making Snow slow her pace. Once he caught up to her, Raja nuzzled her hand and brushed against her waist. Understanding blossomed in her mind and careful not to pull too hard, Snow kicked her leg over the tiger’s back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He loved her and if she thought that she needed to get away he was going to help.

  
On and on they ran through the twisting hallways, startling servants and maids as they rounded a corner or splashed through several of the shallow pools that created the inside oasis from the scorching heat outside. Finally, Raja slowed his pace and crossed through a curved archway and out into a shaded courtyard. In the center stood a tall bubbling fountain that served as a giant pool for dozens of doves. Whether it was from the exciting escape or the crushing heat, Snow felt her cheeks flush once more as she descended from the tiger’s back and made her way toward the fountain.

  
“Thank you, Raja,” she whispered thankfully. “They just weren’t listening to me. You must know, you love Jasmine not me,” she said, trying to persuade him but Raja merely lay down and crossed his paws in front of him. “Ah, never mind,” she sighed as she ran her palm along the surface of the cool water. Even in the shade she could feel her pale ivory skin start to burn. How in the world had she, the fairest of them all, come to be in the desert? She was going to burn to a crisp.

  
“Snow? Snow?” a tiny voice called out from far away. Snow’s ears perked up as she longed to see Charming’s face but all that greeted her hopeful stare was the figure of the sultan scurrying down the hallway toward the open courtyard. “Ah,” he sighed as he tried to catch his breath. “I thought I’d find you out here. This was always your favorite spot to hide when you were a child.”

  
“Please sir,” Snow begged, rising from the cool stone bench. “There has been a mistake. I am not your daughter.”

  
The sultan grabbed hold of her hands tightly and began to lead her back into the palace walls. Immediately, Raja jumped up from his relaxed position and growled ferociously at the sultan. Her father shrunk back and let go of Snow’s hands but then quickly captured them once again. “Oh, Raja!” he yelled, quite flustered as he again tried to pull Snow back inside. “You don’t always know what’s best for her!”

  
“Please, sir, you must listen to me,” Snow pleaded. “Jasmine is your daughter. There has been some sort of a mistake or a spell that changed everything. You must help me get back to my land so that I can set this right.”

  
“Nonsense child,” he said dismissively, “You and your dreams, dreams to get out and have your own kingdom. But believe me my dear, by choosing a suitor all of that will be a reality!” he laughed happily, not letting his grip on her wrist loosen as they left the shady courtyard.

  
“But I don’t want my own kingdom here. I am perfectly happy in my cottage with Charming!” she tried to reason again but the small sultan heard only what he wanted to hear.

  
“Yes, yes, my dear, it will be a charming kingdom I am sure, now come here and meet your suitors! All but one has arrived but I think you will find them all quite suitable,” he chattered on as Snow started to cry.

  
“But I already have a suitor,” she whispered through tears. “His name is Charming. He rescued me from the Evil Queen’s poisoned apple.”

  
“Evil Queen? There are no evil queens here my dear, you must be thinking back to one of your friends,” he waved her words away and pulled her into the foyer where Snow saw three men awaiting her. “Now, hmm, let’s see, it looks like the maids did an alright job, at least you are no longer in your dressing gown but I suppose it will have to do, we don’t have time to have you change now for as you can see they are already here!” he spoke a mile a minute, so fast that Snow couldn’t even think about getting a word in.  
Distracted by the sultan pulling down and tucking pieces of fabric away, she glanced down and saw that her maids had indeed managed to dress her in the soft raspberry sheer cloth that left her shoulders bare but thankfully covered her belly. Her feet were bare as well and jingled when she shook her ankles but other than that, she didn’t seem too dressy. “This way my dear come on let’s meet them all!” the sultan cried happily. Snow couldn’t do anything but follow along as he pulled her by the hand toward the three men standing erect in the center of the room.

  
The first looked quite young and the large turban that he wore wove from side to side as he tried to make it stay on. “How do you do Princess?” he asked as he bowed low and smiled. “I am Prince Kiva and I have traveled a great distance to meet you.”

  
Snow allowed him to bring the back of her hand to his mouth and she blushed as his wet lips touched her skin. “Ah…thank you Prince Kiva,” she said awkwardly as her eyes quickly rushed over to the next gentleman in line. He too had a warm dark complexion and Snow found her hopes rising as she searched his face for any sigh of Charming. As the Prince met her gaze, her small hope vanished as the stranger smiled.

  
“Hello Princess, I am Prince Binja and I too have traveled from a far away land to drink in your beauty,” he explained smoothly, planting another kiss on her still wet hand. Snow felt her stomach clench and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Now she knew what Jasmine had been talking about when she had told them the story of how her father tried to arrange her marriage. Meeting all of these pompous men was a nightmare. Then, as if a light had suddenly been turned on in her mind, Snow gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. “I know, I have been told that I can make any woman swoon,” Prince Binja went on, clearly misunderstanding her reaction. Snow wrinkled her nose and took a step back to face the sultan.

  
“Sir, I need to see Aladdin,” she explained the urgency in her voice plain.

  
“Aladdin who my dear?” the sultan responded, glancing around at the assembled group of men as if waiting for one of them to step forward.

  
“No, he’s not here, sir, he’s outside of the palace walls in the…” she paused, trying to remember exactly where Jasmine met him. “He’s in the marketplace!”

  
The sultan thought for a moment, for this was the first time his daughter had shown any interest in a suitor before. “Well of course, my dear, we shall fetch him at once!” he said throwing his fat finger into the air. “Where is this Prince Aladdin exactly?”

  
“No, he’s not a Prince; at least I don’t think he is at the moment, if I understand all of this right,” Snow replied, puzzled.

  
The sultan wrinkled his nose in disgust, “Not a Prince? Not a Prince you say? Well, then why should you need to speak to him? Certainly a…a street rat holds no opportunity for a Princess,” he scolded, his puffy face turning a dark shade of red.

  
“But sir, please in order to fix this I need to see him!” Snow begged, not bothered by the fact that all three suitors turned and began walking away.

  
“Wait, wait!” the sultan called out, ducking around Snow and chasing after the departing men. “Please, one of you must fancy my daughter, she’ll come around she’s just had a hard morning that’s all, please, I beg of you!” But none of the Princes even looked back, for they felt that they had all been insulted by the Princess. “Look what your raving has done now!” the sultan cursed. “I spent a lot of time and effort arranging these meetings for you and what do you do? Stand there and look at them as if they are nothing more than elephant dung, what in the world has gotten into you child?”

  
At first, Snow felt ashamed for having caused so much trouble for the sultan but the more she thought about it the less embarrassed she felt. It wasn’t her fault she had been brought to Agrabah and hadn’t she tried her hardest to explain the mistake? And knowing Jasmine, she wouldn’t have wanted to marry any of those stuffy jerks anyway. She was about to open her mouth and make a retort back but just then a tall, dark, figure entered from the side of the room and seemed to glide over the cool marble floor to where Snow and the sultan stood arguing.

  
“May I be of assistance, your majesty?” the tall figure asked in a calm voice. Snow was sure that she had never seen this man before but by the look in his eyes and the sneer of his mouth, she knew that she never wanted to meet him again.

  
“Ah, Jafar,” the sultan sighed, sounding quite relieved. “Perhaps you can talk some sense into my daughter. She seems to think that she needs to marry a street rat rather than a Prince!” he scoffed, throwing up his arms.

  
“No, I don’t want to marry him either,” Snow protested. “I just need to speak to him!”

  
Jafar’s eyes narrowed menacingly. Ursula had said that their world would reset and it had, but he was worried by the fact that this new Princess seemed just as determined to escape an arranged marriage as Jasmine had been. Would she fall in love with Aladdin as Gaston had predicted? Or could he still rise to power? Deciding to act rather than wait for this new Princess to ruin him, Jafar spoke quietly, “Your majesty, why don’t you go calm yourself on the veranda, hmm? Let me speak to the Princess and see what I can find out.” The sultan considered Jafar’s proposal for a moment before nodding and running out into the hallway. Jafar smiled to himself and turned to look at the new Princess for the first time.

  
Her fair skin was thoroughly flushed and he could see where the pale flesh had already started to burn. She was dressed in the typical fashion of Agrabah but she looked extremely uncomfortable in the flowing fabric. All of this suited him just fine if it weren’t for the look of passion and determination in her eyes. She knew something was wrong but how would she be able to stop him? Suddenly, an idea sprung into his mind. He hadn’t been able to hypnotize Jasmine because her wish for freedom had been too powerful, but with little Snow White here, hadn’t others described her as sweet and gentle? Maybe her mind would be persuadable, especially because she had no experience in this land and her fear of never returning home would make her vulnerable.

  
“Now, child,” Jafar whispered gently as he turned back around to face Snow. “Why don’t you tell me what is troubling you.”

  
Snow furrowed her brow and felt the hair on the back of her neck stick up. This man was bad, evil, and reminded her of her stepmother the Evil Queen. She had sent a huntsman to cut out her heart, what would this man do? Doing her best to push her fears aside, Snow straightened her posture and raised her chin. “I need to see Aladdin,” was all she said, careful not to give too much information away.

  
“I see,” Jafar answered, his words sounding like the hiss of a snake. “And what does a Princess need with a street rat?”

  
“I am not your Princess,” she said strongly as her legs quivered underneath Jafar’s frightening stare.

  
“Not a Princess?” he repeated, surprisingly. “Well then, who are you?”

  
Snow opened her mouth to speak but just as she was about to explain, Jafar raised his cobra-headed staff and hissed, causing the golden serpent’s eyes to come alive. “I…I,” she started to say but something strange was happening. The longer she stared at the ruby red eyes, the foggier and foggier her memory became until she could no longer remember what it was that had been so important a moment ago.

  
“Now, listen closely, Princess,” Jafar instructed, bringing the mesmerizing staff closer to Snow’s face. “You will marry me and sit by my side quietly as I destroy your father’s kingdom,” he ordered, smiling as he saw her eyelids begin to droop.

  
“I will marry…” Snow began to repeat when there was a sudden crash and her memory came flooding back to her as the hypnotizing staff fell away. Startled by the sound, Jafar glanced around the room in shock as he saw his staff lying underneath one of the pet tiger’s paws. Jafar put up his hands and took a step back while the parrot on his shoulder squawked in fear.

  
“Good kitty,” Jafar said calmly while Snow put a hand to her aching temple.

  
“What did you do?” she asked confused as the room swam before her like a thick fog. The image of her in a wedding dress, about to kiss Jafar bubbled to the forefront of her mind until she threw her head to the side and cried out, “No! I will not marry you! I am in love with Charming!” Before Jafar could stop her, Snow jumped onto Raja’s back and told the big cat where she wanted to go. Eager to please his friend, Raja rolled the staff to the left, letting out a satisfied growled as he heard it smash against one of the numerous pillars decorating the room. Jafar yelled out and dashed over to the staff while Raja kicked off the floor and darted out of the front doors.

  
As Jafar grasped the cool golden hilt in his palm, he glanced up at the open door and smiled devilishly. His plan had worked. He had not meant for the Princess to marry him, he had simply wanted to test how strong her bond was to the Prince that she claimed she loved was. By casting his power, it seemed that Snow White truly did love her Charming. Jafar chuckled to himself and with a wave of his hand, shut the open door. Now the lost Princess was hurtling toward the marketplace in search of a lonely street rat that would end up being worthless to her cause. And while Snow White searched and searched the twisting roads and hovels lining the marketplace, he would be free to overpower the sultan and take control of the palace for himself.


	5. Ariel

Unlike in the other lands, Ariel was not greeted by warm sunshine but rather dark storm clouds and the pounding sound of rain. She opened her eyes to the gray morning light and was suddenly forced upright by the hard shove of her mattress. “Ouff,” Ariel gasped as her worn blanket went flying, “Well, that’s never happened before.” Curious, Ariel kicked off the rest of her covers and set her feet on the cool wood floor. Just as she was wiggling her toes, she heard a deafening crash echo from somewhere downstairs. With a quick jerk of her neck, Ariel bounded through the bedroom door and found herself on an unfamiliar landing that was absolutely covered in miscellaneous pieces of junk. Her eyes widened in wonder as she began to explore all the hidden treasures buried beneath piles of more wonderful objects. “I can’t wait to tell Scuttle!” she whispered excitedly as she picked up a slightly warped fork, “Hey, a dingle hopper!”

Immediately, Ariel brought the twisted fork up to her slightly disheveled hair and began combing it through expertly. Once satisfied, she placed it back down on the leaning pile and started to explore what other interesting objects lay hidden but just as she was reaching for an old clock, the same loud crash that she heard a few minutes earlier, clashed again and Ariel set off running down the creaking old staircase. It didn’t seem to bother her that she had awoken in a strange home for Ariel was always looking for an adventure and ever since she had moved into the seaside palace with Prince Eric, life had definitely lost some of the usual danger she had grown accustomed to.

Navigating her way through the cluttered cottage, Ariel found her way to a slightly ajar door at the very back of the house. As she neared it, she could hear a man’s voice grumbling and mumbling away as the sound of something chugging sputtered and choked in the background. With her curiosity burning, Ariel pushed open the thin door and started to creep downstairs, her progress unnoticed as the man continued to tinker and toy with a large brown machine. Once she had reached the bottom step she gasped in surprise, for she was looking at a wall full of gizmos, gadgets and whatzits that far outweighed her small collection that she had collected a few months ago from several abandoned ship wrecks. “Wow,” she said aloud, finally alerting the man to her presence.

“Ah, Ariel, thank goodness you’re here,” the little man squawked, grabbing her arm and pulling her gently over to where the tall sputtering machine sat, heaving up and down slowly. “I need you to hold this little lever right here while I secure this bolt,” he instructed, leaving her to hold an old brass lever while he scurried to the other side and began muttering and mumbling to himself all over. After a few minutes, Maurice seemed satisfied and stepped back, his hands splayed wide as he waited. Ariel didn’t let go of the lever, unsure what the man wanted her to do next. Hurriedly, he waved his hand to the spot beside him and ordered, “Come dear you can let go of that! It’s finally ready I think!” Then, without further pause, Maurice cranked a small lever, similar to the one Ariel had been holding, four times and stepped back. The machine took up its chugging sound once again and the whistle at the very top let out a long cry, pouring white steam out into the damp basement. “It’s working! It’s working!” Maurice cried happily as his eyes continued to watch with wonder. Ariel too was keeping a close eye on the object because even though Maurice claimed that it was working, she had no idea what it was supposed to be doing.

After the whistle faded, a long, bulky arm attached to the machine began to rise and then quickly brought itself back down with blinding speed. Maurice continued to look on quite amazed and clapped his hands together. “It’s wonderful,” Ariel said appreciatively, for even though she couldn’t decide what the purpose of the machine was, she could tell how important it was to the short man beside her.

“Yes, yes, thank you, dear, it is isn’t it!” Maurice said enthusiastically. The whistle sounded again but this time the arm did not raise itself but instead swung to the right and smashed another wooden object to the ground. “No! Wait, no, stop it!” Maurice yelled, running across the room to try and shelter the splintered object from further abuse. By the time he had reached the fallen object however, the large machine had begun to short out and all of the little bolts and knobs and whozits started to dance out of place and hit the cement floor with little sharp pings. Maurice’s shoulders fell forward and his neck dropped with disappointment. “Ah, I was so sure I had it this time,” he groaned, standing up and placing the other broken piece back in its spot on the table.

Ariel came around the machine hesitantly, careful not to set off anymore abrupt movements. “Why didn’t it work?” she asked curiously.

Maurice shrugged, “I couldn’t even begin to tell you, my darling. One day it’s the screw the next it’s the balance and today it seems like it’s the internal air flow,” he sighed.

“Oh,” was all Ariel said, having no experience with any of those things before. “Um, so what was it supposed to do?” she asked gently, not wanting to upset Maurice further.

“Well, it is supposed to be able to cut firewood on its own and then sort it onto this rack,” he indicated pointing to a wrought iron shelf covered in cobwebs. “This way we wouldn’t have to go out and cut our own but…it looks like I’ll have to take it back to the drawing board. And I was so close! The invention convention is tomorrow but I can’t see how I’ll be able to fix it by then.”

“The invecontion?” Ariel repeated erroneously.

“What’s that, ha-ha,” Maurice laughed. “It’s only the largest invention fair in the country darling, I’ve been telling you about it for weeks!”

“Oh,” Ariel replied, having no memory of that conversation. “Well, is there anything I can help you with?” Maurice tossed his wild hair to the side and immediately set back to work on fixing his wood-cutting machine.

“No, no, darling, you go out and enjoy the day, I’ll figure this quirk out if it takes me all night!” he said determinedly and Ariel took that as her cue to leave as Maurice wiggled his large belly underneath the now silent monstrosity. Walking back up the stairs, she decided to take the man’s advice and explore the new world that she had landed in. With a quick trip upstairs, she rummaged through her tiny closet and found a plain blue and white dress that looked very familiar but she couldn’t place where she had seen it before. Once dressed, she glanced outside and smiled as the heavy rain continued to hit the windowpane. Maybe she would find the ocean close by to this small cottage and could visit with Flounder and her sisters for the afternoon.

Racing downstairs once again, Ariel paused by the front door as she threw it open and inhaled the fresh earth scent. Although it was refreshing, the crisp salty flavor was absent and Ariel found she was suddenly homesick. Brushing the fleeting sense of disappointment away, Ariel stepped out into the steady drizzle and set off for the small collection of thatched roofed buildings a short ways off in the distance. Twenty minutes later, Ariel arrived at the entrance to the small town, soaked to the bone. Her long hair was plastered across her forehead and her shoes squeaked with water when she walked, but the smile on her face couldn’t have been brighter. Bright lights burned warmly in the front of the shop windows, beckoning to her on either side. Excited to see all that the town offered, Ariel took her time and visited shop after shop, examining every little knick knack and thimble that sat on the shelves. She was greeted warmly by the shop keepers but after a few shops, she realized that many of the other patrons kept looking at her warily. Ariel shrugged their stares off for she was used to be different.

As she opened the door to the next shop, a cozy and warm feeling enveloped her as she stared wide-eyed at the quaint little bookstore. “Ah, Ariel I knew you would come!” a small, thin man greeted her from behind the counter. “I knew this awful rain couldn’t keep you away,” he laughed, nudging her slightly with his elbow. “So, what’s it going to be today? Romance, adventure, mystery?” the book keeper asked as he jumped onto a nearby rolling ladder and paused at each section mentioned.

Ariel looked around in confusion. What was this man talking about? Having lived under the sea her entire life, Ariel had never read a book. Sure she had seen them before, but Scuttle had told her that it was called a trunt and that people wore them as hats. So, trying to impress the shop keeper, Ariel walked over to the Romance section in which he was waiting and pulled a small book off of the shelf and placed it confidently on her head.

“I think this one will do nicely for today,” she smiled and picked up the string hanging from his eyeglasses. “What’s this called?” she asked curiously, tying the fraying string around her pinky finger. The shop keeper looked at Ariel as if she had suddenly sprouted five extra pairs of hands. Why in the world had she put that book on her head?

“Very cute, Ariel,” he laughed tentatively. “So, did you finish The Black Pirate Ann yet?” he volunteered, hoping the subject change would bring about her old self. Ariel paused in her scrutiny of a sharp metal letter opener and glanced over her shoulder at the man.

“Ah no,” she answered. “I’ve never met any pirates but there are lots of merchant ships that sail overhead. That’s where I met Eric,” she explained, placing the letter opener back down on the counter, quite perplexed.

“Eric? You mean Gaston?” he clarified, stepping off of the ladder and making his way back behind the counter.

Ariel cocked her head to the right, “No, Prince Eric. But I’m not sure where he is or the castle for that matter. I tried to find the ocean earlier but I don’t think it’s around here.” The shop keeper laughed.

“Well of course the ocean’s not here,” he said. “We’re in the middle of France, not on the coast of England. Where is your head today, my dear?” he chuckled to himself.

Ariel felt her cheeks burn but she ignored the comment.“Well, do you know of a castle nearby?”

“A castle?” he paused. “Well, there is one to the North but that’s where they say a great Beast lives there. I wouldn’t advise you to go there alone, but perhaps Gaston will take you.” Ariel considered this for a moment. If there was a castle nearby, perhaps that was Prince Eric’s and she could go home and catalogue this adventure away in her memory.

“Yes thank you,” she replied, wondering to herself what a Gaston was. She turned to leave the cozy shop, the book still on her head when the shop keeper, whose name was Pierre, dashed out from behind the counter and gently grabbed the book from atop her head.

“Why don’t I keep this here for you until you get back?” he offered, sighing in relief that he had managed to save his cherished book from being destroyed in the rain. Ariel gave a small nod and once again walked happily out into the rain.

“North,” she whispered to herself. “I need to go north.” Just then, she collided with a burly figure and the impact sent her crashing to the numerous puddles lining the cobble-stoned road.

“Hey,” a deep voice yelled. “Watch where you’re, oh Ariel, it’s you,” the voice stopped, instantly changing from scolding to affectionate. Strong arms picked her up and helped her back to her feet. With a swift glance upward, Ariel felt her heart leap as she took in the strong chin and the black wavy hair, but her joy was cut short when she saw her savior’s eyes. Rather than the dark green color that Eric had, dark brown greeted her gaze instead. As she stepped back to take in the man’s entire appearance, Ariel quickly realized that this man was certainly not Eric. The muscled man smiled confidently, “What are you doing out in the rain? You look like a drowned rat.” Not understanding the reference, Ariel raised her eyebrow and started to walk around the man. “Hey, hang on there, I thought you had agreed to go out with me tonight,” the man said, grasping her hand in his and pulling her closer to him. He smelled of heavy aftershave and sweat and Ariel wrinkled her nose and tried to pull away from him. All day people had been recounting the past to her and she had no idea what to make of it. Had everyone woken up discombobulated today?

“Um, well, I can’t today I have to go somewhere,” she apologized although she was certain that she had never agreed to a date with such a man, even if she couldn’t remember.

“Go? Go where? No one stands up Gaston,” the man went on, flexing his biceps powerfully. So this was what a Gaston was, a pompous jerk Ariel thought to herself.

“Well, I need to get to the castle and I can’t wait around to have dinner with you, although I’m sure it would be…fascinating,” Ariel retorted, doing her best to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. She just wanted him to leave her alone so that she could find Eric.

“The castle, you’re going to go to the Beast’s castle?” Gaston said incredulously. He had been positive that this new Princess would instantly fall in love with him. Weren’t all the other women in the village head over heels for his smile? He thought back to yesterday when Ursula called his fear out about taking in a new Princess. He had been sure his plan would work but here they were, the first day, and already Ariel was running off to see the Beast. Gaston growled low in his throat. It had taken Belle months to appeal to the Beast’s softer side. If Ariel walked into the castle and began making demands, he was sure that the Beast would chew her up and spit her right back out and then, weak with his dying curse, Gaston would be able to lead the villagers and attack the castle and this time…no one would stop him.

“Yes, there is someone that I am looking for there,” Ariel explained coldly, already beginning to walk away from the repulsive Gaston. Gaston laughed darkly to himself.

“Well alright if I can’t change your mind,” he called. Placing his hands on his hips, Gaston watched Ariel go with a black look in his eyes. Perhaps his plan would work out anyway and he watched with a snide grin as she disappeared around the last shop and was lost from view.


	6. Pochahontas

“Wake up you lazy girl, wake up!” a loud, shrill voice yelled over and over again as three separate bells rang out loudly. Pocahontas fluttered her eyelids open and pressed her hands to her ears. Why was there so much noise? Glancing around the small circular room, nothing was familiar. Rather than her cozy hut with the thatched roof, cold stone greeted her gaze along with worn wooden floorboards and a leaking roof.

  
“Well this is strange,” she whispered to herself as the bells continued to scream in protest. Throwing aside the thin blanket, Pocahontas slowly crossed to the other side of the room and looked at the vibrating bells, curiously. There was also a small speaker mounted on the wall beside the row of bells and Pocahontas leaned in closer to get a better look for she had never seen such a contraption before.

  
“Get up! The girls are starving, you lazy thing!” the same, cold voice ordered from the speaker once more, causing Pocahontas to jump back in surprise.

  
“Who are you?” she called loudly into the speaker, unaware that Lady Tremaine had installed it for only one-way use. “Hello?” she called out hesitantly once more when all of a sudden a chorus, of tiny feet echoed all around her and she felt numerous tugs on her night gown. Pocahontas glanced down and her eyes flashed wide as she took in numerous, little brown mice, all wearing small shirts or dresses climbing up to the small shelves and ledges that lined the wall.

  
“Mornin’ Pocahontas,” one little mouse dressed in a red shirt and hat greeted squeakily as he helped another mouse dressed in a yellow shirt, and who was quite chubby, reach the shelf he was standing on.

  
“Hello,” Pocahontas said smiling, eager to have small friends like the ones she knew in the forest. Thinking of her friends for the first time, she anxiously looked around for Meeko or Flit but saw nothing but the colorful movements of the friendly mice.

  
Amidst all the happy chaos, the three bells never ceased their ringing until finally, Pocahontas grabbed them off of their bouncing string and threw them to the floor. The little mice gasped at her in shock, never before seeing this side of her. Once the last bell had stopped ringing, she gazed upward and saw all their tiny jaws hanging open. “What? I couldn’t take the ringing anymore,” she explained with a shrug. “What a terrible sound. Why were those there?”

  
The little mouse, who had said good morning, Jacque, stepped forward and pointed down at the floor boards. “They was there for the mean ladies,” he said. “They ring a ring them when they need you to do something for them,” he squeaked.

  
“When they need something from me?” Pocahontas repeated, flabbergasted. “Well, why can’t they get it for themselves?”

  
“They, they lazy,” the chubby mouse, Gus replied nodding his little head as he spoke.

  
“Well, that’s not going to work is it,” Pocahontas laughed as she put her hands on her hips. “I’m not sure why I am here but you can bet these walls aren’t going to hold me for long.” Quickly, she searched around the room for something to wear. All that she could find were long, simple dresses that had two patches on the front where the knees were worn. For a moment, Pocahontas longed for her soft burlap dresses but she squared her shoulders and determinedly pulled a dark brown dress over her head. It fit her perfectly, but she told herself that she wasn’t going to wear it for long. She didn’t care how she ended up in this cold castle because she was going to find her way back to her village.

  
With alarming speed and grace that left the mice scurrying to catch up with her, Pocahontas descended the twisting old staircase as if she were climbing down Grandmother Willow’s branches. After several minutes, she landed softly on the final landing and turned the doorknob. With a loud creak, the door swung open to emit Pocahontas onto a lavish, dark red carpet that meandered down a long elegant hallway that hosted many large canvas portraits on the walls of three scary looking individuals. The first painting Pocahontas passed was of a young girl dressed in the largest dress she had ever seen. Her waist was very thin but her backside puffed out quite humorously underneath all the bright pink ruffles. The girl had a pointed face and beady little eyes that seemed to look down on her. Pocahontas stifled a giggle, for she thought that the painting resembled a fat pig in a wig and dress.

  
As she took a few more steps down the hall, a similar picture glared down at her, this one also of a young girl. However, where the first looked like a fat pink pig, the second reminded her of gangly heron stuffed into a mint green gown. This girl had dark black hair and slightly darker skin but she too possessed that same haughty look that the first portrait had. Finally, Pocahontas stopped in front of the largest portrait displayed in the hallway and this was by far the scariest of them all. Instead of depicting silly girls, this painting held a much older woman with severe silver hair pinned tightly to her head. Her skin was smooth with very few wrinkles but it was her eyes that stunned Pocahontas the most. Where the first two subjects had been stuck-up, this woman looked positively wicked. Her green eyes shone out with hostility and her thin lips were pursed in an almost degrading manner. “I hope I never have to meet her,” Pocahontas whispered just as the door behind her clanged open against the doorframe.

  
“There you are, you lazy girl,” Lady Tremaine barked. “What the devil took you so long? I’ve been ringing and ringing you for an hour! Didn’t you hear me?”

  
Slowly, Pocahontas turned away from the leering portrait to look straight back into the same eyes she had just dismissed. A mixture of fear and defiance suddenly welled up inside of her. Who was this woman to speak to her so rudely?

  
Lady Tremaine lost her temper even more as Pocahontas stood there simply staring at her, her large amber eyes strong. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself? There’ll be no supper for you tonight, none at all! Maybe then you’ll learn to respect your elders!”

  
“Respect?” Pocahontas repeated, shocked. “You want me to learn about respect?” Lady Tremaine looked taken a back for a moment, for Cinderella had never contradicted her before. “You stand there and preach to me that I do not show you respect. Well, why should I? If you were telling the truth about ringing that awful bell for an hour did you for one moment think about me? About how hearing that awful ringing would affect me this morning?”

  
The Lady simply stared with her mouth open until she realized what she was doing and quickly closed it, drawing herself up to her full height. But even then, Pocahontas’ long legs still placed her higher than the stepmother.

  
Tired of listening behind their doors, the two stepsisters, Drizella and Anastasia, crept out into the hallway to stand at their mother’s side. “What’s going on mother?” Anastasia asked sleepily as Drizella regarded Pocahontas with her nose in the air.

  
“Where have you been? I’ve been calling for you forever!” she stressed, flinging her long dark hair over her shoulder.

  
Pocahontas looked at each sister for a few moments before she finally understood. “You’re the ugly stepsisters,” she said slowly as she realized the truth. Cinderella had told them all stories about her awful relatives but Pocahontas had had no idea of how horrid they actually were.

  
“I beg your pardon,” Lady Tremaine yelled as she stepped in front of her daughters, acting as a shield from Pocahontas’ brutality. “I will not have you speak to my girls like that.”

  
Pocahontas just shook her long dark hair and smiled, “That’s fine with me, for I have had quite enough of them already.”

  
“You ungrateful little brat,” the stepmother spat, “After all we’ve done for you. Cared for you after your father died, this is how you repay us? All we ask is that you look after the house and fetch simple things for us but no, even that simple gratuity you cannot achieve,” she finished, mockingly.

  
Proud Pocahontas raised her chin a little higher so that all three of the women had to look up at her. “Ungrateful you say?” she said, calmly. “May I ask what it was you needed from me so urgently this morning?”

  
Lady Tremaine narrowed her eyes at Pocahontas angrily. By getting rid of Cinderella for the woodland Princess instead, she thought that getting her daughters the crown would be simple, but if the girl was already putting up a tenacious fight against her rules, heaven knows how her plan would reach fruition.

  
“Well, I needed a cup of tea,” Drizella answered, snidely.

  
“And I needed another blanket,” Anastasia piped up, not to be forgotten.

  
Pocahontas hesitated for a moment, a look of disbelief clouding her face. She quickly thought back to all the work she would be doing at that moment, harvesting the crops, cooking breakfast, and awaiting the arrival of her father from his conference with the other chiefs. Guilt swelled inside her chest and made breathing difficult for a second. What would he say when his eyes did not see her standing amongst those on the riverbank? She forced her welling tears aside and set her jaw. It wasn’t that she wasn’t used to hard work, but why should she bend down to these people who didn’t have the slightest appreciation for her, or better yet for her friend.

  
“I see,” she stated slowly, making the stepsisters smile with victory. “May I ask a question to the both of you?”

  
“I don’t see why you would need to,” Drizella whined, glancing back to her bedroom.

  
“What is your question child?” Lady Tremaine asked coldly. If she was going to defeat the wild girl’s spirit, she needed to know what she was dealing with.

  
“Mother!” Drizella hissed, clearly perturbed by the fact that her mother would allow their “maid” to speak another word.

  
“I was just curious to see if your arms and legs worked,” Pocahontas said gently, disguising the hatred boiling up within her. On her trip to London with John Rolf she had been treated in a very similar manner. Even though she hailed from a different land and didn’t lace herself up with choking attire, it didn’t give others the right to treat her as a savage. It was time these girls learned what hard work was.

  
The two stepsisters regarded one another and laughed idiotically. “What a stupid question, of course our limbs work,” Drizella taunted, waving and moving her arms as she replied. Anastasia laughed hysterically but Lady Tremaine bristled like an angry cat, for she knew where Pocahontas was heading.

  
“Then next time I suggest you get your lazy backsides out of bed and fetch whatever silly item you need for yourself,” Pocahontas instructed gracefully and turned on her heels and started to walk away down the rest of the hall.

  
“Ah, mother!” Drizella gasped. “Did you hear what she just said to me?”

  
“Who in the world does she think she is? Cinderella never talked to us that way,” Anastasia commented, pressing her hands hard into her hips.

  
Lady Tremaine remained silent as she watched Pocahontas disappear around the corner and a small smile pulled at her mouth. No, they were right, Cinderella had never spoken to them like that and she highly doubted that the Prince would tolerate her antics as well. Casting her thoughts of Pocahontas aside, the stepmother turned to her gossiping daughters and began to shoo them back into Anastasia’s room. “Come on girls we need to start preparing you for the Prince. Tonight, the King is hosting a ball in order to find a wife for his son!”

  
“But mother, we already tried that and it didn’t work remember?” Anastasia whined, crawling back onto her bed.

  
The Lady yanked back the covers and sneered, “Yes, my dear, but that was before the magic reset the land and this time…Cinderella isn’t here.”

  
Understanding blossomed in Drizella’s eyes but Anastasia continued to look utterly confused. “So what does that change? The glass slipper didn’t fit us then either,” Anastasia retorted.

  
“No, it did not,” the Lady replied coldly as she threw open the large dusty curtains. “But I highly doubt the Prince will fall in love with that awful thing,” she said, gesturing to the hallway where Pocahontas disappeared. “So now it’s our job to catch his eye with my two beautiful daughters,” she described, clutching both of their chins with her sharp nails. They certainly weren’t the most beautiful girls in the kingdom but without Cinderella’s beauty and charm to trick the Prince, nothing would stand in her way.  
She laughed to herself as she saw Pocahontas climb the withered apple tree in the garden and leap over the crumbling stone wall. Good, let her run away. She had no idea the favor she was doing her.


End file.
